Crouching Soldier, Hidden Fantasy
by Spinechicken
Summary: All new version of the story that puts an action oriented, western twist on the great film
1. Chapter One: Where Am I?

Crouching Soldier,  
Hidden Fantasy STORY CONTENT, BAR ALL REFERENCES FROM CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON ARE  
COPYRIGHT TO SPINECHICKEN. DON'T COPY, USE YOUR OWN IMAGINATION!  
Putting a new, modern, western twist to the great film.  
  
Chapter One: "Where Am I?"  
  
"Bravo Five, say again"  
  
Corporal Jack Dalton popped his head up from behind the log he was using as cover, and fired a quick burst of rounds from his M4. Ducking behind the log as the Chinese soldiers tried to get him; he put the radio ear peace to his ear.  
  
"This is Bravo Five, my squad is dead, pinned down by heavy fire in the foothills east of Beijing, think I've found the terrorist camp.."  
  
He paused to use the break in the Chinese fire to pop out and take some more shots, killing one poor soldier who was reloading. "Request backup immediately" Dalton threw the ear peace away, and it slammed against the dead body of the radio operator. He fired another burst of rounds, and then his gun gave a dry click.  
  
"Damnit" he muttered, throwing the rifle away, and picking up the radio operators "Sorry buddy" he grinned, and fired again. He ducked down as another hail of bullets hit the log. Then, suddenly, a bright flash of light illuminated the area he had set down in. He felt beams of light sting his whole body, and soon pain overcame him, and he blacked out.  
  
Slowly, but surely, ambient noise began to work its way back into his ears. He could hear the twitter of birds and the creek of the tall pine trees. He could feel the wind lifting up the shirt of his uniform, and the blood of his comrades sticking to his body. As shapes slowly became defined, Dalton realised he wasn't dead. He picked himself up and looked around. Same forest, same light. Yet something was different.  
  
He pulled the empty clip out of the weapon, and picked up all the clips he could find, quickly stoving them into his bandolier. Then he took a moment as he realised that the shooting had stopped. He moved up slowly to take a peek above the log. The forest was empty.  
  
"What the.."  
  
Where had all the soldiers gone? His first thought was that his forces had flown over and machine-gunned them, but there were no bodies. And the oddest thing was, there were no bullet holes, either in the surrounding trees or the log he was using for cover. All the spent cartridges had vanished. He reached for the radio  
  
"Bravo Five to Eagle, come in over"  
  
There was no response, not even the crackle of radio waves. Dalton tried again  
  
"Bravo Five to Eagle, you guys messing me around again, over" again there was nothing. Dalton dropped the ear peace and stood up, his brow furrowing.  
  
"Where am I?"  
  
Dalton took a moment to think about what he should do. Firstly, he covered over the bodies of his comrades, taking their dog tags. Then he decided the best course of action was to make his way back into Beijing and hook up with either the Chinese or American Special Forces command in the city centre. Picking up the M4, and taking a swig from his water bottle, he stepped forward into the forest. 


	2. Chapter Two: Discoveries

Chapter Two: Discoveries  
  
By the time Dalton had got into the outskirts of Beijing it was already dark. He'd racked his brains on the way down as to what could have happened; yet all possible outcomes escaped him. He'd come to the land of dragons as part of a joint US-Chinese special force operation to quell terrorists who were threatening to bomb the US and China. He'd looked forward to the op for a while. Firstly, he'd watched too many Chinese films back home, probably thanks to his ex-girlfriend. Secondly, he'd never left the States, and the opportunity to explore another country, even in combat, was rare to refuse. And finally, he was relatively fluent in Mandarin, taught to him by his father, who had been a CIA operative in China in the 60s and 70s.  
  
But when things started getting nasty, he had forgotten about discovery. The terrorists were ruthless, using civilians as human shields, slaughtering downed soldiers. When he and his squad had gone scouting in the foothills they never expected the volume of fire they had encountered. He was looking forward to laying in a soft bunk and getting drunk so he could ignore the pangs of sadness that hit him every time he thought of his dead friends.  
  
The oddities that had started since his awakening in the forest hadn't stopped though. When he'd got in a position to overlook the city, it looked remarkably underdeveloped. He couldn't see any tower blocks, or roads. He figured it was just his eyesight. But as he walked through the outskirts, other things startled him. There were no people, no streetlights or cars, no noise of traffic.  
  
Dalton rounded a corner to find a man threatening a woman with a rather vicious-looking knife. He was screaming at her in Chinese, telling her to give him money.  
  
He cried, "Hey buddy"  
  
The man looked and his eyes filled with fear. He dropped the knife and ran. He didn't think twice about this, a fully camped Special Forces soldier would look scary. But the woman also ran away, screaming "monster, monster" Things were definitely getting weirder. He continued walking and entered a massive courtyard.  
  
"Whoa, I've never seen this before"  
  
Dust whipped across the open area, there were carts abandoned at some of the edges. It was eerily silent. He dropped down on one knee and reached for his water bottle. He took a last swig as the bottle ran empty. He had felt really dehydrated since he awoke and it was beginning to bother him. Before he could even through the bottle away however, action erupted in front of him.  
  
A woman wearing grey, and a black masked fighter literally flew down from above the courtyard and into the area. Both turned to face each other, and then engaged in martial arts combat. Dalton watched, entranced by this dance of death. It wasn't until it started getting rough he decided to intervene.  
  
As the woman in grey grabbed the masked intruder, Dalton loaded his weapon and in his best Mandarin shouted "HEY!" The two looked, and both stopped fighting. The masked intruder then let out a womanly scream and leapt off, flying away like he had never seen. The woman in grey took a step toward him. He levelled his weapon at her, but it didn't seem to stop her, like she didn't know what it could do.  
  
"Hold it right there" he said  
  
"Calm, calm" she responded  
  
"I AM CALM!" he shouted, before realising he was doing it. "Are you alright?" she said, looking oddly at him  
  
"I'm fine, now who the hell are you?"  
  
She stopped, steadying herself in case he was going to attack.  
  
"My name is Shu Lien" she replied, at least that's what Dalton thought she said. It was too late for him to make his mind up however, as a hard object struck him in the back of the head. As he went down he fired his weapon at the distance, and the last thing he heard was a scream. 


	3. Chapter Three: Little Swords

Chapter Three: Little Swords  
  
Hours, maybe days later, Dalton slowly awoke from his deep sleep. Light slowly filled his eyeballs, making the reddish hue of the eyelids become more apparent. Dalton could hear voices, Chinese voices. They were talking too fast for the words to form. Slowly but surely he opened his left eye. His M4 and equipment pouches were laid out on a table, and in the doorway was the woman in grey and a soldier, who had a mean looking sword in a scabbard by his side. The two looked over in his direction, so Dalton snapped his eye shut.  
  
"Gotta get my weapon" he thought.  
  
His head ached, and he could feel the pillow was soaked with blood from the slash on his head. He snapped his eyelid open again, the two had gone. Instantly Dalton leapt up , grabbed the M4 from the table in a perfectly executed roll and sighted it at the door. No-one was around, though in the distance there was the creak of floorboards as feet walked away from the room. Dalton slung the M4 and raced quietly out of the room.  
  
The daylight was blinding. The sun shone down like an almighty torch in his eyes and the heat was burning. Dalton covered his eyes and checked ahead. There was no-one about, so he raced across the open courtyard of the house, ducking behind a wooden panel. He checked his back, then turned too peer through the pattern in the wall at the two women inside. The sun made patterns through the open wall. He could see the woman in grey talking to a smaller, younger woman. Concentrating hard, he managed to piece together what they were saying  
  
"Do you have any idea where he came from?"  
  
"Judging from his facial features, he is a westerner, but he wears very strange clothes for a westerner, and that strange metallic thing he was holding."  
  
Dalton smirked to himself. He ignored the persistent almost bird-like speak of the two women and looked at the décor and design of the houses and rooms. From what he could tell, this was most certainly not the present, more like sometime in the past. But when was it? Dalton puzzled over this before relaxing his injured left leg against the wooden panel. What he hadn't realised was his portable CD player was in there. The wood caused the "play" function to be depressed, and instantly his CD began to play. Heavy metal music filled the air (as Dalton always liked to listen to his music loud) He fumbled with his green pants and pulled out the shiny CD player, before ripping out the batteries and flinging them against the sandy street. He popped his head over the panel, and nearly smacked into the face of the younger woman. The two's eyes locked, and she looked absolutely terrified. Dalton reacted instantly, reaching for his sidearm and pointing it against the woman's head. The cold chrome made her shudder, but slowly the two rose. Dalton pressed the gun hard against her forehead, trying his best to intimidate the groups of long-haired, black clad guards who had now entered the courtyard. Dalton shouted in English.  
  
"Back off, or I waste the girl!"  
  
Strangely however, the guards, and indeed the girl, looked unfrightened by the 9mm handgun he was holding nervously in his hand. His fingers tightened around the trigger, and Dalton bit his lip as he tried to control himself and prevent unloading a round into the sweet, innocent face before him. One of the guards moved too close, and Dalton rolled away from the girl, sighted his weapon and shot the guard in the kneecap. The bullet blasted a bloody hole through the bone, and the guard fell to the ground, clutching madly at the wound and screaming. The other guards backed off immediately, stunned at the noise and power of the small, pathetic looking thing in Dalton's hand. Dalton's eyes narrowed.  
  
"I said BACK OFF!" He holstered the 9mm and slung his M4 around, slowly backing away, before running as fast as he could. The guards followed in close pursuit. Dalton ran as fast as he could, his legs stinging with pain, his chest heaving as he pushed his way through the narrow streets and passed stunned civilians. As he was running, the radio that was attached to his flak jacket, suddenly glowed green, and a crackly signal erupted from it.  
  
"Jack..it's.Peters..."  
  
Dalton was stunned to hear the voice of his friend, who'd been lost in the same hills about a week ago. Resting beside a weathered grey stone, he sighted his M4 and fired some rounds at the ground in front of the pursuing guards. They halted, their eyes alight with fear, before turning and running as fast as they could. Dalton breathed a heavy sigh of relief before picking up his radio.  
  
"Peters, where the hell have you been?"  
  
"Here.it's a long story. Don't go waving around your weapons here man, it's dangerous. Come meet me in the courtyard where they found you at nineteen hundred tonight"  
  
Dalton paused, flicking his silver wristwatch into his field of view. It read sixteen hundred. Dalton shook his head, and responded.  
  
"See ya there" 


	4. Chapter Four: You Shouldn't Have Done Th...

Chapter Four: "You Shouldn't Have Done That"  
  
Dalton sat in the abandoned courtyard. He was parched, his throat ached, and his stomach was rumbling like a Hummer engine. He shook off the feelings, and returned to his gunsights, checking the courtyard. The fading light was lighting up the beautifully intracte stone of the ground. But before Dalton could truly appreciate them, a cloaked figure slowly appeared in the courtyard. Dalton dug the rifle into his shoulder and examined the figure. It was wearing US Army boots. Breathing a heavy sigh of relief, Dalton stood up from his concealment and shouted Peters name. Peters threw off the cloak and ran over to Dalton, the two smacking each others hand in a high five.  
  
"How the hell are you buddy?" Asked a concerned Peters  
  
"Like the Arizona desert, you aint got water?"  
  
"Sure have" responded Peters, handing Dalton a wood-like flask.  
  
Dalton wasted no time in ripping off the cover and throwing the water down his throat. It was cool and refreshing. He drunk the entire bottle, and swilled the remainder round his mouth before swallowing it down. Peters gestured for Dalton to follow him and the two proceeded out of the courtyard.  
  
"So where the hell are we buddy?" asked Dalton, biting into an apple his friend had given him.  
  
"More precisely, when the hell are we. From what I can tell, this is early- mid 19th century China."  
  
"Wha.?"  
  
"The gun the Chinese terrorist were using was a kind of time weapon, designed to remove us to this period so we won't cause them any problems."  
  
"How do we get back?"  
  
Peters paused, sighing deeply and looking at his friends, his blue eyes awash with sadness. "We don't, unless one of those sons-a-bitches comes here with a weapon"  
  
Dalton flung the apple at the street and swore loudly. Peters hushed him down.  
  
"Look man, these people are friendly, it's a nice time to live, you just have to be careful the public don't see you"  
  
Dalton shook his head.  
  
"This isn't my time."  
  
Peters' eyes narrowed.  
  
"It is now. C'mon, I'll get you back to my place" Dalton spun around  
  
" 'Your' place?" he inquired, with disbelief.  
  
"Yes, given to me by the local governor, I told you they were friendly"  
  
Dalton laughed, and the two proceeded along.  
  
Eventually, they entered another open courtyard. The two soldiers were laughing and joking, and didn't notice the carnage unfolding in front of them. A father and daughter were engaged in a pitched martial arts battle with the masked creature from last night and an old woman. Dalton caught the scene out of the corner of his and reacted quickly. The two soldiers pulled out their sidearms and fired two rounds in the air. Instantly the group turned their attention to the soldiers. It was Peters who spoke.  
  
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE"  
  
The masked figure was staring intently at Dalton, who had levelled his pistol at her. She glanced at the older woman who nodded. The older woman leapt into the air with suprising agility, landing on one of the other combatants and breaking his neck. In the same movement, she picked up his mean looking weapon and flung it at Peters. The blade spun through the air and sliced the soldier's head off in one quick movement, before lodging itself in the wall behind. Dalton looked on in horror as the headless torso of his friend slumped to the floor, red blood oozing out of the wound. He turned back, and shouted.  
  
"F*** YOU!"  
  
Dropping the pistol, Dalton unslung his M4 and began firing wildly. The two women leapt into the air, not before the masked raider had broken the neck of the second friendly combatant. Dalton continued firing, but the two seemed to miraculously dodge his bullets. The older woman flew away, but the masked raider landed in front of Dalton, as his clip ran dry. Dalton's eyes flashed from the empty, steaming weapon and up to the masked raider. In a hate-filled Chinese voice the woman shouted.  
  
"You want a fight? You've got one"  
  
She lunged at Dalton, grabbing his weapon and pushing him back to the wall, throttling him with it. Struggling as the cold metal began to squeeze his windpipe, Dalton managed to gain enough strength to punch the woman across the face. There was a bone-cracking crunch and she fell away. Dalton fell to the floor, choking for air. He looked up and saw the bright silver of his 9mm. Crawling across the floor, Dalton managed to pick up the handgun as he heard his assailant pick herself up. He spun round and sighted as she leapt in mid air. She did an amazing quick flip, grabbing Dalton's weapon and pulling off it's upper section, so that the bullet fell out onto the floor. Dalton looked at the remaining handle, stunned. The woman then spun round and smacked Dalton hard in the face, knocking him unconscious. She rubbed her hands together and smiled.  
  
"That was for earlier, you shouldn't have done that"  
  
With that she leapt into the air and flew away, leaving the two American bodies were they lay in the coarse sand.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED... 


End file.
